Building a Mini-ITX

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Zarathud
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Building a Mini-ITX

Post by Zarathud »

The server box we currently use for the kid's computer is chugging along horribly (probably because the old 1GB RAM has been woefully inadequate for years). I'm building a $500 box around the BitFenix Prodigy case and mini-ITX form factor:

Image

The goal is to get a machine that can serve as a file backup and run LEGO, SEGA Sonic Racing and other kid games. A power gaming system is not required, and later upgrades are expected. Before watching Starship Troopers on Rifftrax with hepcat, I went with this:

Gigabyte GA-Z87N-WIFI
Intel Core i3-4130 (3M Cache, 3.40 GHz)
Kingston 8GB HyperX (PC3-12800) CL9
Gigabite Geforce GTX 650 Ti
LG Blu-ray with DVD Burner
WD Blue 500GB SATA
Corsair CX430M

At the last minute, I decided to lower the Wattage on the Power Supply because I leave this box turned on all of the time and the Intel i3 really does have a lower power draw. The video card is overkill for a 6 year old running on a spare 1050p monitor.
Last edited by Zarathud on Fri Sep 13, 2013 2:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by Daehawk »

Started to say you could go cheaper on the video card.
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by Zarathud »

I went with only a 1GB video card, so the price was $125 in-store. It's pretty small and runs a larger fan. I was only going to spend $75 on a NVIDIA card, but I started to get worried about the SEGA Sonic Racing -- one of the kid's favorite games. Its power draw is pretty small and overall ratings are great for its category, so I bent the budget a little.
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by Daehawk »

heh its gunny how fast stuff changed. I got my GTX 560ti 1g card in 2011 and it was like $250. I think that one you got it about the same as mine and cost so much less :( Damn tech lol.
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by LawBeefaroni »

I build a bunch of Shuttle mini-ITX boxes back in the day. They all eventually died because of the PSU. Just too small.
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Zarathud
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by Zarathud »

The video card market is strange. I am also running a 560 Ti that's 2 years old and its ratings are still 25-30% faster than the 650 Ti. The power requirements of the new card is around 1/2 the older one, I believe.

The new system replaces an old Shuttle style box, and I'm impressed with how 4 more inches of height really matters for the layout.

The upgrade for my machine is going to be a 500 Gig Samsung EVO SDD. I just have to work out the data transfer from my boot drive to avoid a system reinstall.
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Zarathud
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by Zarathud »

double tap
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by Cylus Maxii »

I got a nice 650ti to upgrade my son's older Shuttle SFF box. It was a big step up from the 8800GT. He loves it.
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by Isgrimnur »

The top 'decade' of each 'century' number are better cards than the bottom 'decade' of the higher 'century'. Click the link for a visual representation from GeForce themselves.
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by AWS260 »

How did the build go? I am thinking of accelerating my build-a-new-rig plans, since my current box recently had a serious brain fart that required a clean Windows installation to fix. I'd like to go mini-ITX, just for funsies.
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Zarathud
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by Zarathud »

Lovely case, very easy to work inside, except you need space on the right for USB plugs. I ended up getting a fan power converter for the third fan. Runs very quietly but I have to make sure the kids don't put stuff underneath -- the PSU vents in from the raised bottom.

I would recommend making sure you use the Windows 7 64 bit DVD rather than throwing in the first disc you find -- for the full 8 GB memory. Completely forgot about that issue!
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Zarathud
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by Zarathud »

Should have said you need space OUTSIDE the side of the case for USB ports.
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AWS260
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by AWS260 »

So, has anyone built in a DAN Case A4-SFX? It looks like fun.

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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by coopasonic »

Interesting idea of fun you have there...
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AWS260
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by AWS260 »

It's been four years since my last build, and I'm getting the itch...
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by ColdSteel »

It's a terrible time to build a new box. Video card prices are insane thanks to the bitcoin mining asshats. I just had my old one die and almost died myself of sticker shock when shopping for a replacement. I ended up paying 50% more than I would have for the same card in back 2016. Ram prices are also insane right now.
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AWS260
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by AWS260 »

The last time I posted in this thread, I managed to exercise self-restraint for about a year before caving and building an ITX machine. It's been almost five years since then, and I am feeling that hankering again. This case just looks so nice...

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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by Hamlet3145 »

AWS260 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 08, 2024 10:04 pm The last time I posted in this thread, I managed to exercise self-restraint for about a year before caving and building an ITX machine. It's been almost five years since then, and I am feeling that hankering again. This case just looks so nice...

Enlarge Image
I really like the looks of that Fractal Terra. Though I recently just ended up ordering a KXRORS S400 for my new build.

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AWS260
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by AWS260 »

It has a handle!
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by Blackhawk »

"Does not occupy desktop space, is a beautiful decoration on the desktop."

It's an inside-out Tardis!
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by Hamlet3145 »

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2024 2:33 pm "Does not occupy desktop space, is a beautiful decoration on the desktop."

It's an inside-out Tardis!
Somebody on Reddit turned his into a "Marshall Amp."

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:D
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by Blackhawk »

Nice. My first thought on seeing it was that it was full of poker chips. It's not ugly - but it's also not a decoration.
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AWS260
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by AWS260 »

Well, it's happening.

Image

Apparently there's something called cable management that I really ought to look up.
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by coopasonic »

Seriously just looking at that picture stresses me out.
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Re: Building a Mini-ITX

Post by Hamlet3145 »

I got my s400 case last week and dig it. Better quality that I expected for the price, to be honest. Now to wait for some sales on the rest of the parts lol. I'm going to be recycling my 6700xt for a GPU, but everthing else will be bought new. I'll be going with a Ryzen 5 7600 for the CPU and 32gb of DDR5 RAM.
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